Thursday, June 15, 2006

What I think is incredibly fascinating about the world of computers is that misspellings become different animals than hand-written misspellings.

For instance, a person who doesn't know the difference might want to spell "their", but instead spell "there". Or, the might want to spell "pneumonia", and instead spell "newmoanya". Handwritten misspellings, while usually phonetically accurate, are usually not funny because they are the product of ignorance. I mean, who among us hasn't wondered if they are using "effect" and "affect" properly? It's not funny when you use them wrong - it's just that your stoopid.

Typed misspellings, on the other hand, are funny. Spelling 'teh' instead of 'the'? That's funny. I don't know why. It just is. Try pronouncing 'teh'. There's nothing phonetically helpful about it. It's just an absurd word. It's funny that way.

All this leads me to My Favorite Misspelled Word of All Time. Are you ready for this? Here it is:borkenI'm not going to tell you what it's supposed to spell, though I'm sure you can figure it out. But borken is great, I just love it. I mean, it is simultaneously titillating and exotic-sounding. It sounds mildly authoritative, yet playfully juvenile. It rolls off the tongue easily, but has no meaning whatsoever. It can be sexy or aggressive. And since it has no definition, it can mean whatever you want it to. Borken.

They say in space no one can hear you scream. Well, the same is true in the blogsphere, so I guess I'm safe if no one finds My Favorite Misspelled Word funny. Some of you might be nonplussed enough to want to show me this picture:For those who would show me that picture, I have one word for you: Borken.

4 comments:

alethia
said...

you are an odd, odd boy and that is why i love ya. i don't know why, but i automatically thought of a dirty connotation (did i spell that right, not likely) that rhymes with borken. what do you think that means?

It's a good think you love me, Alethia. Otherwise, I would just be a freak with a bizzare sense of humor.

As far as what borken means, it would take out all of the fun to define it. So,it sounds like porkin' to you. You are newlywed, after all. In a few years, it will be a curse word you say to your husband. Mark my words.

Having worked in the SBC field for MANY, MANY years I had the opportunity to type this word approx. 60 trillion times and 3/4 of the times I would misspell it and it made me laugh almost every time - Baptsit - why did it make my laugh - who knows?? That's a warped Southern Baptsit for ya'!

Is there a teleological suspension of the ethical? If not, how could I ever approach all things as if before God alone - challenging myself and challenging Him, not as a man who wishes to remain himself, but as a man who wishes to discover himself and God through fear and trembling.